Typhoon Man-yi made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday, bringing destructive winds and torrential rain to a nation still recovering from a series of powerful storms that have killed more than 160 people and caused widespread damage.
Man-yi, called Pepito in the Philippines, was packing winds of 161 miles per hour when it landed as a super typhoon, equivalent to those of a Category 5 hurricane, before being downgraded to a typhoon, according to the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
It made landfall at 9:40 p.m. on the eastern island of Catanduanes on Saturday, the country’s meteorological agency said. It was the sixth storm to hit the nation in a month.
Philippine officials rushed to evacuate residents and brace for a “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation,” warning that the storm could bring landslides, flooding and storm surge throughout Luzon, the country’s largest and most populous island, and the central Bicol region.
The state news agency said early Sunday that more than 2,600 passengers had been stranded in ports around the Bicol area.
Ariel Nepomuceno, a senior official in the Office of Civil Defense, said that more than 130,000 people were evacuating their homes ahead of the storm’s arrival.
The storm knocked out electricity on the island province of Catanduanes on Saturday, according to the state news agency, which shared videos from residents of heavy rain and wind.
There were travel disruptions as well. Cebu Pacific, a Philippine airline, canceled more domestic and international flights as the storm approached landfall.
Forecasters said that some areas, including Catanduanes, were expected to receive more than seven inches of rain by noon on Sunday, warning that severe flooding and landslides were expected to be widespread.
Heavy rain is expected to fall through Monday evening, they said. A storm surge of up to 10 feet could hit low-lying or exposed coastal areas in the next 48 hours, officials said.
Jonvic Remulla, the interior secretary of the Philippines, said on Saturday that the surge could reach as high as 23 feet, and that he had requested the local authorities to evacuate residents from areas less than 33 feet above sea level.
Recent storms have stretched the country’s resources for disaster relief. The last storm to hit the nation was Typhoon Usagi, known as Ofel there, which made landfall on Thursday. Before that, Toraji, Trami, Yinxing and Kong-rey unleashed floods and landslides over the past month.
The post Typhoon Man-yi Brings ‘Life-Threatening’ Storm to Philippines appeared first on New York Times.
